Stuck
by napalm k
Summary: Rachel Anne has a secret she's never shared with another living soul. The one woman, her grandmother, who she had wished to tell passed away before she was able to. Little does she know, but her grandmother had a secret of her own which will introduce Rachel to a world she never imagined existed and to the Weasley family, who become more like family than her own. George/OC &Fred/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Stuck**

**Chapter One**

Rachel Anne looked around at the crowd of people who stood by her grandmother's casket. She knew grandma Irene was a bit of an eccentric and kind to everyone, but she had never seen the majority of these faces while her grandmother was alive. A small group of people stood out from the crowd. While most had worn the traditional shades of black, a number of these people looked as though they were dressed to go on holiday. One family – at least she assumed they were a family since they all had the same fiery red-orange hair – looked as though they had dressed themselves in the dark. The children seemed to have some sort of dress sense; two of the older boys, twins it looked like, were at least dressed in suits… even if they were a darker shade of emerald, close enough to black she supposed. Whoever these people were, Rachel only cared that they were here for her grandmother because her grandma Irene was the kind of woman who deserved all of these friends here to remember her after she was gone.

Most of her childhood holidays were spent traveling between the U.S. (where her father lived), London (where her mother moved back to after the divorce), and the small town in Scotland where grandma Irene lived with her dogs. Now that she was older and finished with her schooling in the states, Rachel spent much of the last two years with her grandmother. She had felt closer to Irene than either of her two parents. This was the first time Rachel had seen her mother in four months and last week, when Rachel called home to tell her mother that her grandmother had died the night before, was the first time they had spoken in weeks. She was only nineteen and while her mother still treated her as though she was twelve, her grandmother had treated her more like a good friend than like a granddaughter.

Even though they were the closest friends and she never doubted how much her grandmother had loved her, there was still one secret Rachel kept to herself. Looking into the ground, trying to picture the woman through the dark cherry-colored wood, Rachel now wished she had shared that secret with her.

"Are you ready to go back?" Rachel's mother stood by her, also looking down into the freshly dug grave. No, she wasn't ready, but she turned on her heel without answering and headed back to the car. Everyone else followed them out to the road. Soon all the cars would travel three miles down the road, families would pile into their living room, and wait to mingle and what was certainly true of her mother, wait for the will to be read.

**This is just a short introduction chapter. I've already begun writing more and will hopefully be posting more (and longer!) chapters soon. Thank you for reading! This is my first attempt at fanfiction :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Stuck**

**Chapter Two**

Rachel sat in the kitchen, away from everyone for as long as she could. Eventually, she was called into the living room so that the executor could proceed with reading the will. When she walked in, she noticed one of the twins standing behind an empty armchair. He must have stood up to give her a place to sit; he was too young to be this old fashioned but she appreciated the gesture.

"If everyone is ready, we can begin," the executor said this looking to each of the persons sitting around him. Rachel saw this man, Mr. Lewis, quite often in the last two months as an attorney to discuss her grandmother's failing health. He tucked a graying strand of blonde hair behind his ear before placing glasses on his short rounded nose.

As Mr. Lewis continued with some of the more legal jargon, Rachel turned over her grandmother's memorial card on her lap - August 8th, 1996. Just five days ago they were celebrating Rachel's birthday with a small cake and decorated biscuits for Corc and Mungan, the Irish Wolfhounds who now sat quietly by the couch. Looking at them now, she wondered just how old they were. Not paying much mind to what Mr. Lewis was saying, Rachel only looked up when he called out a Molly Weasley. Rachel knew the woman though they have never met as far as she could remember. Grandma Irene spent many mornings writing to Mrs. Weasley or when she had received a response, she would find her grandmother pouring over the letter while sipping at a cup of tea. All of the children, and the man she suspected to be Mr. Weasley, then looked to Molly; she wasn't a very tall woman and was honestly somewhat plump. Her face was aged by lines that Rachel could only conclude were from both happy and trying times from the way they framed her eyes and mouth. She had also been crying and the whites of her eyes were reddening and the skin around them had puffed up. Rachel had to look away as she now felt like crying with her.

"_To my dear friend Molly (Weasley), I wish to give you my traveling trunk and all of the artifacts I have stored within it over my lifetime. I believe your husband will find it fascinating how some of us older muggles used to live back in the day._" Rachel paused at the word _muggles_ and it seemed she wasn't the only one confused by it. Mr. Lewis continued however, without anyone questioning it. "_I hope, Molly, that some of the items will bring back fond memories._" Mr. Lewis then took a letter from the portfolio he had on the table in front of him. "She also left this letter for you to read in private."

Next he had come to what was due to her mother; Irene had left her the full amount of one of their savings accounts, a number of items that had belonged to Rachel's grandfather, and another envelope that was addressed to her.

"And what about the house?" Rachel's mother asked. Mr. Lewis looked a bit unnerved by this question and knowing what a kind man he had been these past couple months, Rachel figured he also thought it inappropriate.

"We will be getting to that." He handed her the envelope. "_And to my granddaughter, Rachel Anne Irene Boyd, I leave in your care our beloved Corc and Mungan._" Rachel smiled down at her two canine companions. "_I trust that you will be a great comfort to one another and that they will continue to love you as they always have. I am also leaving to you the wonderful home we have shared together these past years and ask that only the items which I have designated to my loved ones should find their proper owners. Everything else I will leave to your judgment. I trust Mr. Lewis to assist you in this._" Mr. Lewis gave Rachel a warm smile and also handed her an envelope which was marked with her name in the steady hand her grandmother had always written in. "Now that we have concluded the reading of the will, if Ms. Boyd agrees," he gestured to Rachel, "we can begin distributing the items which you have inherited."

"Mr. Lewis," Rachel leaned over to speak to him quietly. "Do you mind if I let you do this without me?"

"Not at all m'love." He placed his hand on hers, "You take your time and I will handle anything you ask me to, anything at all."

Rachel again found herself hiding away in the kitchen, Corc and Mungan falling down at her feet by the table. Automatically she had filled the kettle for tea but didn't place it on the stove. Instead she slid into one of the chairs and put a hand behind one of the dogs' ears. Listening to the voices in the next room she thought about the Weasley family who she now knew were very close friends of her grandmother. Rachel also wondered why she had never met them, or if she had why it was she couldn't remember. She also found herself thinking about the boy standing behind her chair. He seemed a bit nervous about something or maybe a bit uncomfortable dealing with his mother's mourning; anytime Molly would start to well up and dab at her eyes, Rachel would hear the boy inhale and then exhale very slowly. His brother seemed to notice his discomfort and would often look up to him from the couch with an equally distressed look on his face. They had passed one another when she had left for the kitchen and one of them – she couldn't tell if it was the same boy standing or if it was the one that had been sitting – had offered her his sympathies and placed a hand on her arm.

She was just so tired and she soon found herself crying, her face in her hands, and folded herself over into her lap.

"Oh my dear," Molly Weasley had come through the door without Rachel noticing. "It will all be okay."

"No, it won't. It won't be ok. How can it be. She's gone. I'm alone. I have this house and I'm in it all alone." She waved her hands in front of her as if she could show how empty the house now felt, even with everyone else inside of it. Rachel couldn't believe she was breaking down like this in front of a woman she had just met, but Molly had rushed over to her and without hesitation took the sobbing girl into her arms.

"_Shh, shh._ You are not alone. You are not, my dear, certainly not." Rachel let herself cry into the warmth of Molly's sweater but kept her hands folded in her lap. After a few moments Molly sat her upright in the chair and took a cloth from the table. After rinsing it in the sink, she put the cool fabric to Rachel's face. "Now, listen to me. You will not be alone, not if I have any say in it. I want you to go upstairs and wait for everyone to leave. Your grandmother has one last thing to say to you and I think you will want to hear it. When you are ready, I will be right here waiting for you." She then slid the letter off of the table and into Rachel's hands. Mrs. Weasley was staying here? With her? Rachel imagined that must have been what her grandmother had written in the letter for her. She wanted to ask but only nodded without looking up. Corc and Mungan sat up as Rachel made her way out of the kitchen and were quick to follow her up the stairs to her room. The twins and a girl that looked like their little sister watched her head up before looking towards the kitchen where their mother was waiting.

Soon the house had gone quiet, Mr. Lewis came to wish Rachel well and tell her he will be in touch within the week. Her mother made her way to the guest bedroom and shut the door the remainder of the evening. Once she was alone, Rachel reached for the letter which she had left at the foot of the bed and carefully peeled the envelope open. Unfolding it, she read:

_Rachel Anne, _

_ There are many things I would like to tell you about your grandfather. _

**And so ends chapter two. Thank you again for reading. I'm already beginning chapter three and I believe they (the chapters) are getting longer. Any feedback is welcome as well as any suggestions of what you would like to see and so on. There will be more Weasleys in the next two chapters! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Stuck**

**Chapter Three**

Rachel could not believe what she had just finished reading. It couldn't be possible. Her grandmother spoke very little about her grandfather after she moved in. Rachel was just so young when he had passed andshe assumed her grandmother had a difficult time talking about him. In her letter, Irene had a lot more to say than Rachel could have imagined:

_Rachel Anne, _

_ There are many things I would like to tell you about your grandfather. Andrew Boyd was born like the rest of us, but he grew up very differently from you and I. You see my darling girl, your grandfather was a wizard. He told me in the same breath as when he proposed to me. Oh, I didn't want to believe it at first. I refused to answer him for weeks and when he came calling I would have my mother draw the curtains so he couldn't look in on us. I thought the poor man must have gone mad, until one day I woke to the sweetest smell filling my room. Wildflowers began to bloom from every nook and cranny, from my closet door to my dresser drawers, and eventually they were flowing out my window and down the front of our house. Standing below my window was your grandfather. Not long after that I was Mrs. Andrew Boyd. _

_ Your grandfather wasn't a very wealthy man, but we lived comfortably. He worked for a shop called The Magical Menagrie seeing to some of the animals that had fallen ill and selling new companions to the school children. He was a teacher for many years but always returned to the care of animals, magical and non. I remember the first time he took me with him. All the strange shops, new clothing, new words. It was frightening honestly._ _I had no clue such a place ever existed in London. It's not far from where your mother lives now, but I'm sure she's never taken you there. _

_ I had never been happier. As a muggle I couldn't perform the sort of magic your grandfather was capable of, but in spite of his talents we lived a very normal life. This might have been more for my sake. There came a time though when things weren't as happy anymore. When you were a young girl, a very dark and evil wizard began to recruit followers on his journey of terror. I had moved to this house then, taking you as well as your mother and father with me. Bravely, or insanely, your grandfather stayed behind to help tend to both muggles and wizards alike who were injured in the wake of this dark wizard's army. Not long after that, your grandfather was murdered. You were only ten years old._

_ When you were born you were given two middle names: Anne, because we certainly couldn't name you Andrew after your grandfather, and Irene after myself. I never imagined you would grow to be so much like the both of us. Now you must know the truth and I ask that you take a moment with the news I am about to share with you. Rachel Anne, you are a witch. From the time you were a little girl the word lit up around you. Your grandfather was so proud at any little bit of magic you could conjure up. He spent a lot of time with you in the first ten years of your life. He taught you about spells (even if they were a bit old for you in my opinion), and herbs, and most of all, about his animals. You were always very close to them and when Corc and Mungan joined us, I realized just how powerful a witch you were. You often mimicked them and eventually you built a pack. You couldn't have been anymore like them, until one morning I looked out to the garden where you had been playing and my two wolfdogs had turned in to three._

_ Your mother, however, did not inherit any of her father's gifts and she found it hard to cope with how quickly your abilities were developing. Your parents had many disagreements on how you should be raised; your father felt it was only right to encourage your natural abilities. Afraid of what kind of future the magical world would come to, your mother felt it best to raise you as a normal everyday muggle. After your grandfather had died, there was no longer any argument. Against my own wishes, your mother sought out some friends of your grandfather's and with magic, had them alter your memory so severely they all but erased the past decade. _

_ I didn't see you for many years after this because of how strongly I disagreed with your mother's choices. So when as a young woman you sought after me, I could not contain the happiness you brought me after being absent from your life for so long. You have not gone unnoticed these last few years Rachel Anne. I don't know how long you you had realized it, but I know you've been exploring the rediscovery of your magical abilities. The moment that glass shattered on the table after I had an argument with you about work, I knew they were resurfacing and by the way you casually reacted to it, I knew you had kept them secret from us. When I told your mother the news, she again ordered me to keep out of it. I didn't want to push you and figured you would talk to me when you felt it was right. _

_ Sadly, I think we will not be having that discussion. You have taken very good care of me these past couple of months and I could not be more grateful to have such a loving and beautiful woman in my life. Since I am unable to share in this wonderful, and magical, moment in your life, I have asked my dear friend to stay with you in my stead. Her name is Molly Weasley and her family has always been close companions to the Boyds since your grandfather's grandfather's time, or something seemingly as long. We are not that much unlike one another, Molly and I. You will love her as much as I have. Please, if you need anything or anyone do not hesitate to go to her. She will never turn you away. She has a lovely family and couple of boys near your age who are wizards just like your grandfather was. They can help you with any of the millions of questions I know you must have after reading this letter._

_ Now, I don't want to reach the end of this, but I feel as though I have. You will be nineteen tomorrow so I have packed away one more gift for you to open after you have read this letter. Ask Molly for this as I have left it in the trunk she will have inherited from me. My lovely little girl, this will be such a new life for you and there will never come a time where I will not be right there by your side._

_ All my love. xx_

When she pulled herself away from the letter she looked to the two large wolfhounds. Tears threatened to fall but only welled up under her eyelids. Rachel did not know if she could believe all of this. Nothing seemed out of place and everything her grandmother had said about her must have been true. She knew about her secret and Rachel never had to actually tell her – never had to tell her grandmother that she thought she was going insane and was imagining all of the things she had done. She regretted not telling Irene more now than ever. Some parts of the letter confused her, but she knew someone who would be able to explain them. Mrs. Weasley could and apparently she also had a package to give to her.

Leaving her shoes on her bed, Rachel headed back down towards the kitchen walking quietly on the balls of her bare feet. The twins and their sister were still in the living room, two of them sleeping opposite one another on the couch. Sitting on the arm of the chair she was in before was the boy who had been standing behind her. She could tell by the same worried look he had on his face. She then realized he had also been the one to stop her before she went into the kitchen. Imagining how rude they must think she was, Rachel made her way to him to introduce herself. They spoke in whispers to avoid waking the other two.

"Hi, I wanted to apologize for earlier."

"Apologize?" He almost smiled. "What would you have to apologize for?"

"I didn't really, well introduce myself to your family." She held her hand out to him. "I'm Irene's granddaughter, Rachel Boyd."

"I know." He took her hand but just held it there instead of shaking it. "George. I'm Molly's son. That there is my brother Fred and that's my sister Ginny."

"Twins."

"Ah, you noticed." Now his smile was full and directed at her. Rachel couldn't help but return it. She had been frowning for so long that she felt the skin on her lips stretching into the smile.

"Is your mother," she pointed to the kitchen.

"Still in the kitchen."

Rachel took her hand from his. Without turning she could tell he was following behind her and held the door open for him to come into the room. Molly Weasley still sat at the table with her own letter in front of her. She had a cup of tea beside her and for a moment Rachel thought the spoon was stirring the drink by itself. If it was, it had stopped when Mrs. Weasley looked up at her and then back to her son.

"Rachel, George, come here." She stood up and motioned for them to both sit at the table with her. "Did you get to read your letter dear?"

Rachel nodded and placed her envelope in the middle of the table as if distancing herself from it would keep her from having to discuss it.

"Mrs. Weasley, I" she paused to consider how to word what she was going to say next. "I never told my grandmother." Molly nodded, "but I think she might have told you some things about me."

"That you're a witch dear, yes she did." Rachel still wasn't used to the word but here Mrs. Weasley had said it so plainly.

"Well, I never told her I could do certain...things, but she found out without me telling her. I didn't know what they were." Speaking became difficult and the sentences didn't come as easily. Her thoughts were choppy and so was the conversation. "She said something in her letter, about the dogs."

Molly put down the cup she held in her hands and inhaled deeply. Rachel waited for her to speak but she was still quiet.

"I just wanted to know, what did she mean by one day her two wolfdogs became three?"

"You're an Animagus." This came from George. Rachel jumped at the sound of his voice since they were speaking so quietly before.

"A what?"

"You're an animal love."

"George!" Molly slapped his hand that lay on the table in front of them.

"What does he mean by that?"

"He means dear, that one day your grandfather had taught you how to turn into an animal. This is a very advanced piece of magic for someone so young." Molly looked at her son both scolding him but also looking at him nervously. She may have feared he was pushing too much information on Rachel a little too soon.

"But I wasn't, I'm not. Was my grandfather?"

"Yes, he was. Very fond of dogs your grandfather was. Irene brought home Corc and Mungan for him one day after work. Good old dogs."

"How old are they?" Rachel wanted to know.

"Who dear? The dogs?"

"Older than me," George said while glancing at his mother, probably setting up for another smack.

"And you are?"

"Eighteen."

"That's not possible is it? They would look much older."

"Oh, but it is possible." George raised his eyebrows at her in mock suspense. Normally Rachel would think he was being cheeky but everything she had learned in the past few hours was pushing out any other feeling she might have, like annoyance. She wouldn't think it possible for a human to become an animal. But she wasn't a human was she? Not really. She was a witch, like her grandmother said, and like Mrs. Weasley, who was also a witch, had said…and she must be this Animagus, like George, who was a wizard, had said. Not knowing how to process it all, Rachel moved on to the other bit of information her grandmother had shared with her.

"Mrs. Weasley, my grandmother said she gave you a package for me. Do you know what it is?"

"Ah yes dear." She left briefly and hurried back through the door with a stack of envelopes tied around the middle with a blue ribbon. It reminded her of how school children used to tether their books together to carry home. "Irene saved these for you."

Rachel took the envelope from off the top. It was addressed to her but she didn't recognize the handwriting or the red wax seal on the back of it.

"What are these?"

George looked to his mother and smiled that full and mischievous smile of his again.

"Hogwarts letters!"


End file.
